Is it Safe in Bangkok?

Well, let me give you my story on a trip I did in early June 2014 to attend the Thailand Travel Mart Plus 2014 or TTM+ which is the largest business to business (B2B) travel and tourism trade show here.

Is Bangkok Safe?

As I got in on Thai Airways, I was picked up at Suvarnabhumi International airport by the Grand Centara Hotel limousine and whisked away through the elevated highway into the city center.

Curious enough, he kept an eye out for the so-called military enforcement that was supposed to be stationed all over Bangkok. 

The toll highway is pretty impressive as traffic flows smoothly until you exit into the city’s main shopping area.

I would easily say that the amount of time spent in the city traffic was equally the amount of time it took to get from the airport to the city exit.  

Motorbike taxis snaking their way through the traffic, frustrated tuk-tuk drivers and passengers looking for some wind to cool themselves down and traffic policemen blowing their whistles like there’s no tomorrow. 

This was quite contradicting to what I have been reading the mainstream newspapers and also the television reports. Simply said – The media loves to hype things up and exaggerate news in order for consumers to watch their channel or buy their newspapers. 

On the 6th June, three main tourism cities of Chiang Mai, Phuket and Ko Samui had the curfew lifted completely in early June and recently in the 2nd week of June, 20 cities and islands across Thailand had the curfews lifted overall. 

Every night before I went to bed, I would take a peek outside the window to see how the streets were. As a matter of fact, there were still taxis and bikes moving about, not much though. 

Hoards of tourists from the world over can be seen here, some even with their infants. So, that perception of Bangkok not being safe was already thrown out of the window for me.

I casually strolled around off the main streets to explore the lanes where thousands of vendors sell all kinds of items. Tourists being tourist was also seen roaming these areas where locals tend to visit. 

Overall, traffic can be a nightmare in the popular parts of Bangkok. For example, a street which leads into a clothing bazaar and back to another street, you can find motorbikes tweeting their horns trying to take a short cut. 

The best time to explore this is in the evenings when hundreds if not thousands of these street hawkers operate from the side of the roads.

As I went around the off-roads of the Pratunam area, spotting a policeman was even hard, not to say army personnel. Business was thriving for the local hawkers while tourists contemplate on eating at which stall. 

In the night, I would walk and try to find very local street hawkers which are off the main roads. And all of these, I never once saw any army personnel or roadblocks in the areas.

I even had the luxury of taking a BTS and MRT trains to Huay Kwang to meet a friend who was also visiting Bangkok during the same time. 

During my Som Tam dinner, I managed to catch the NCPO general giving a speech on national television at the restaurant.

I was pleased to know that his entire speech had subtitles in English for foreigners to know what he was conveying. 

Overall, the summary is that the current issues faced in Thailand are mainly politically related and trouble makers from out of Bangkok were brought in to incite chaos, however, these are not the Bangkok citizens as many locals told me.

So, the military has imposed the curfew to rid of these people by rounding them up. So far, they have been doing a great job in maintaining the order of the country. 

There is a restaurant on the 55th floor while the Red Sky Bar is one level higher. This open deck with a 360-degree view of Bangkok city is absolutely stunning.

The best time to visit this place is just before sunset at about 6pm. However, go early to get the best seats.

They have a happy hour from 5.00 PM to 7.00 PM where various beers, wines, and liquors are buy-one-get-one-free. Prices are affordable at 290++ Baht, which if you ask me, is very worth it for the experience. 

The dress code is smart casual, but you can go with your shorts and shoes too – only if you’re a tourist. 

For me, I have visited Bangkok numerous times since 1988 and have seen the city change rapidly over the decades.

The best times were in the late eighties and early nineties before the BTS trains came about. That was the true Bangkok city which was vibrant and exciting.

With advancement and technology, Bangkok now looks just like any other city but is a must visit for anyone who has never been to Thailand. 

Overall the city is very safe and shopping is one of the main reasons that visitors come to Bangkok, apart from the Thai experience.

So if you are questioning yourself if Bangkok is safe? Let me just say that it is 110% safe. I stayed here from 4-7 June, barely two weeks after the coup and curfew but life was normal there.

For more information, please visit the Tourism Authority of Thailand Website. Thailand is amazing and a great place to eat, shop and explore. Sawadee Khrap.